I have complete control of the vehicle.

The Dodge Caliber is a weird little car. I rent a lot of cars, but never has the driver seat been so much higher than the passenger seat, and never have I needed to adjust the steering wheel. It's a strange little box - roomy enough - but its small size and sturdy build actually make it hard to see outside of the car. I have a hard enough time changing lanes and checking my blindspot - thank God I had Mike in the backseat saying things like "Watch out for that car in front of you."

We drove down to Six Flags Great Adventure yet again yesterday, this time to see Club Kidz Bop - I'll withold my reviews. The weather was terrible, but Six Flags apparently never closes because of rain, and we had to go there for work anyway, so off we went despite the bleak forecast (which our resident meteorology expert Mike confirmed).

Lucky enough this time we actually got to do the Daredevil Dive, which was probably the highlight of the day. Mike missed it because he wandered off for an Italian ice, but had he stayed he would've seen me and Edith being strapped together, tethered and launched 157 ft. up into the air, clutching onto each other, arms interlocked. We were then released, bungee-style, to swing back and forth over the crowd. A good precursor to skydiving for anyone who's never done it. And it wasn't scary at all for me, except for that moment before the freefall (but thankfully you're suspended by a strong tether instead of hurdling towards the ground). You can do the ride with up to three people bundled together, so we're looking for a third participant for the next time....
We also rode Nitro based on Mike's recommendation, and I too had a visual fade-out - not a full-on blackout, but everything turned sort of purple as the ride banked over that last turn. Very satisfying, especially since the threatening sky and severe thunderstorm warnings closed down the rest of the rides for most of the day.

A decent dinner at Champps bar & grill in Edison's Menlo Park Mall gave us a good break from the rain, and when we were done we had a relatively short drive home. Finding a lucky meter-free parking spot on 25th Street helped me get into bed at a decent hour, and when I checked the car this morning I discovered that there was no damage to the car, despite hitting the curb on a flooded highway exit when a deluge of water hit our windshield the night before. Relieved, I gave that weird red Caliber back to Dollar car rental by 10 a.m. and came home to go back to bed.

Oh, what an adventure

There's nothing like taking the day off from work to go to an amusement park and see a concert. Yesterday actually marked the second time I'd been to Six Flags Great Adventure in two weeks - this time to see Angels & Airwaves in concert (you may know their conveniently-titled single "The Adventure").

Marc Ribot has a song that says that the hills of New Jersey are so lovely, and although it was meant as a joke, he's right. Once you get past all the industrial crap, driving down the Garden State Parkway actually is pretty green. And hiding among those hills are all sorts of great finds - relics of suburbia like outlet malls and 50's-style drive-in diners like Stewart's.

It's the same Stewart's that makes the root beer (not the Stewart's convenience stores that we Upstaters know), and there are a few left around the country, several of which actually in NJ. We stopped at the one on Rte 9 in Howell but there's one in Kearny and in Vineland with variations in menu and decor. We didn't use the car-hop service (like you see in American Graffiti) but we did eat hot dogs with bacon, steak sandwiches and waffle fries. And root beer in a frosty mug. A&W has got nothin' on these guys.

Unfortunately that meant our stomachs were not in prime form for lots of rides, but we did survive the hour-plus wait to get on .the Superman ride which, in terms of avoiding regret, was worth it. Flying through the air stomach-down is actually quite relaxing. Doesn't really feel like you're going upside-down. It was nothing like El Toro, which kicked our asses the week before. New this year to Six Flags, El Toro is a wooden-style rollercoaster that goes faster than any ride I've ever been on. Vertical drops. G-force like you wouldn't believe. It makes you feel drunk. Ole!

So I've got one more trip to Six Flags in me this summer, next month to see Club Kidz Bop. Maybe I'll finally work up the nerve to ride Kingda Ka then. And maybe when we go back to the Cheesecake Factory in Edison on the way home, I'll actually leave some room for cheesecake.

Long and Strong

I was bummed to have to give up my Saturday to drive one of my label's artists and her manager around Long Island, but I consoled myself when I realized that Long Island is probably the one place where I could actually find a guy who wants to take me to the mall and listen to Journey. After all, the one guy I actually do know who fits the bill lives in Cedarhurst. So I packed up the rental car and I picked up my passengers and zoomed over to the Queens Midtown Tunnel for an early morning drive down the L.I.E.

My previous excursions to Long Island have taken me to some of the usual destinations - Fire Island, Jones Beach, Westbury Music Fair, Roosevelt Field - but the only other time I had to work out there was just out to Farmingdale and fortunately I wasn't doing the driving. This time around I had to navigate my way all the way out to {ahem] a charity soccer tournament in Commack.

On the way out there somewhere around exit 36 we got hungry and were making good time, so we started driving towards Mineola (sort of) in search of food, and found a great little bagelry on Mineola Ave. called Barbara's Bagels. I have no idea who Barbara is but her bagels are fantastic. I was trying to be good so I managed to avoid the french toast bagels (replete w/powdered sugar) and the flagels, which just sort of looked like flattened-out bagels.

After getting to Commack and surviving some drizzle on a soccer field, we had to head back towards the city to Port Washington, a surprisingly cute watefront area (with neighboring Danbury and Manhassett) with lots of upscale shopping, gated communities and a crazy school/retreat tucked away in the woods (whose sign asked that we preserve the serenity of their campus, meanwhile I was peeling out as I made a U-turn in their driveway because I was lost). After petting some doggies and kitties at North Shore Animal League (which was surprisingly depressing) we got a late lunch at the very scary-looking Mexican/South American restaurant Mi Ranchito / Senor Pollo, whose excellent fajitas and vegetarian burrito weren't scary at all! (You know anyplace with pictures on their menu really could go either way...) Appropriately, we then caught a matinee screening of Nacho Libre at the soon-to-be-renovated movie theater on Main Street.

The hilarity of the film didn't get my spirits high enough to mentally survive the noisy, chaotic ride back to JFK - not hearing the GPS, making a few wrong turns, getting stuck in very slow traffic. Whilst trying to avoid a mental breakdown right there, I really wished I had hijacked the trip and dragged everybody to Garden City for some hot mall action and the Cheesecake Factory. At least then my quest for the man of my dreams might've been satisfied... Between that and not making my travel companions happy despite best efforts, the whole mission felt pretty impossible.

And now back to work. And further evidence that I need a pet.

A quick jaunt to Florida

Just got back tonight from a quick work-related trip to FL - flew into Ft. Lauderdale and drove a very short distance to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood (technically on the Seminole Reservation). Even though we were there on business, we had plenty of time to explore the casino, eat lunch at Hooter's, and take a dip in the very shallow pool (which is more like a lagoon with a water slide).

Thankfully I didn't drop too much money this time around - I was enjoying watching my coworker gamble while I held tightly onto my money. I did blow some cash playing some slots that ended up very boring (including Monopoly and Enchanted Unicorn, shockingly not a magical experience for me). Didn't get to try my luck at Hexbreaker which was the highlight of my Turning Stone casino experience, but that's OK.

The rooms at the Hard Rock are great, and there's music playing everywhere. When I checked into my room they had the stereo already pumping music, just waiting for me to arrive. Plus there's memorabilia everywhere, and a huge blown up photo of Stevie Nicks hanging over the front desk.

We had the latter portion of Friday night to ourselves so we went dancing at Pangaea, which mixed current hip hop and R&B with some throwback hits from the Monsta Jamz era. On our way back to our rooms we popped into Tequila Ranch, but once again I was in no shape to ride the mechanical bull. Yet another missed opportunity...

Somehow managed to get ourselves up this morning and go on a quest for Waffle House, which wasn't too far in neighboring town Dania and where I had the best soft-scrambled eggs with cheese I have ever had (besides in my own kitchen). And of course a waffle and a cup of famous coffee.

With a few hours to spare before our flight back to NYC we went in search of a mall, only to find that the Millenium Mall was definitely not from this millenium, and it was totally abandoned (I now wish I'd taken a picture). After also chasing down the dog races and a couple other malls which turned out to be strip malls, we drove to Miami for the Aventura Mall. Too bad we were too full to eat at the Cheesecake Factory there.

Took the necessary run through the local Target store (just on the other side of the Miami-Dade county border) and then drove through a brief, thunderous downpour on our way to the airport. My driving was stellar for the sake of my coworker, but I still made several illegal u-turns while getting lost. Serves me right for not getting the GPS this time.

I Heart Upstate New York

Howe's modest entryway

Back Upstate just one month after our trip to Albany for Kidz Bop Live, this time for another visit to Mike's house in Barrytown and for a road trip to Howe Caverns in Howe's Cave, NY. I had been there as a kid - in retrospect, my father did a very good job finding touristy ways of entertaining us back then - but really only remembered something about stalactites and stalagmites and being afraid of whatever was dripping on my head, and had a vague recollection of a boat ride. Visiting there again - in a relatively large group of 8 people - was fun in a predictable kind of way, especially since I'd just visited the caves at Ruby Falls in Chattanooga's Lookout Mountain a year ago. After we got to Howe's we realized that they also do a lantern tour (like the Castle Labyrinth in Buda) - that coupled with the fact that they didn't turn the lights of at all during the boat ride this time around gives us plenty of reason to go back.

The back of Olana at sunset

Even though Howe Caverns was the main destination on our trip, we started following a lot of the brown signs in the area that point out historic sites, and Mike being from that area had his own favorite spots to show us. Historic Hudson Valley is a network of these types of sites, mostly manors and estates owned by socialite families and often - like Olana - designed by famous artists. Olana (designed by Hudson River School painter Frederic Church) was really a standout for us - walking around as the sun just started to go down, this Persian style fantasy was much more ornate than a lot of the other Greek Revival and Beaux Arts houses we saw.

After sunset on the banks of the Hudson River in Clermont's back lawn, the next day we were really hyped for more exploring. We checked out the garden at Bard College and marveled at the amount of painters standing with their canvases under parasols - totally a scene out of a Victorian movie. The neighboring Montgomery Place has a cool hidden waterfall just on the border of the Bard campus so we took a hike through there despite our flip flops and temperature-inappropriate jeans.

I guess I never really knew that area of the state at all - Dutchess County, Sleepy Hollow... I've learned so much and my hometown isn't even all that far from there. Now that I have a plan to go back to Syracuse in a couple of weeks, I'm determined to do more exploring and get to know my roots better.

Plus, I think there's maybe another roadtrip ahead, next time to Cooperstown which appears to be much more than just the Baseball Hall of Fame. And maybe we'll get to stop at Dairy Queen again - if not the one in Oneonta, then back to the one in Hyde Park (thank you Chris)....

Chk-a-Cherry Blossoms!

My friend Bill took a date to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden the other day and he reports that the cherry blossoms are all gone - vacuumed from the premises. Fortunately, I managed to make it there during the Cherry Blossom Festival a couple weeks ago, despite prohibitively long lines at the front entrance. I of course tried to go with a date, too, but once again I've overestimated romantic interest so instead I went with my partner-in-crime and had a great time.

It's no wonder all the blossoms are gone - people down the tree-lined walkway shaking every branch they can reach, the petals snowing down on all our heads. Maybe that's why the girls in the band we saw, Gaijin A-Go-Go, carry umbrellas.

It was my first visit to the Botanic Garden, and it's gorgeous. Tons of other kinds of flowers and plants - tulips, roses, etc. - on a perfect sunny Saturday. I hope to head back to Prospect Park soon for some paddle boats or horseback riding or to check out the birds.

For those about to trapeze, I salute you

The tent @ Trapeze School New York. No, that's not me flying through the air - and we went at night.

Taking a flying trapeze class kicked my ass. Somehow jumping out of a plane with a guy strapped to my back in September didn't scare me, but grabbing a 10 lb. bar while dangling off a platform 23 ft. above the ground did.

Granted, I couldn't see anything because I didn't dare to wear glasses (and couldn't get my act together in time to come up with another solution). The whole experience is so disorienting - flying through the air, not seeing anything, all the echoes of the tent and the traffic of the West Side Highway blending together...I knew that there was someone yelling instructions to me, but I couldn't hear it. I also knew - intellectually - what my body was supposed to be doing, but I had no idea what my body actually was doing.

In fact, I still don't know - looking at the bruises I have on my knees, upper arm and side, clearly something kicked my ass. Could it really have been the net I landed on?

Overall I'm really glad I did it - after all, as Tim said, bemoaning that you're not good at trapeze is like saying you're no good at swimming with sharks. But still, I can't help but say, I totally sucked.

Hopefully in retrospect I can look back on it with fondness, remembering Manny, the hot guy that strapped me in. In the meantime, my muscles are killing me and I can barely get dressed in the morning, and I know I'll probably never see Manny again. Thank God for Deborah, my massage therapist at Crunch. Oh, sweet relief....

LA Day 3

There's this big weekly party on Tuesdays at the Standard so there was a huge line outside tonight when I pulled up to the valet. I could get in no problem as a hotel guest but I've chosen to hang out in my room and watch an episode of Nash Bridges next to a pile of day-old pancakes, which I keep nibbling on. I'm no snob.

It was a busy day starting at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast at the Mondrian's restaurant Asia de Cuba, which was more Cuba than Asia but as far as huevos rancheros go, excellent. Though dreary like NYC when we woke up, the sun eventually came out during a nice drive out to Santa Monica, where we wasted some time on the Pier and my face got a little color. It was a reprieve from my day full of meetings, which ended nicely at the Beverly-Wilshire lounge (and a fantastic manchego cheese plate, plus the complimentary spicy nuts and olives and breads).

Instead of joining my colleagues for a margarita-soaked Mexican dinner I went to the LA branch of my weekly cold reading series, but it was a total bust. When I left early I had convinced myself that my car had been stolen because I just didn't remember parking that far down the street. Fortunately I didn't lose my mind and kept walking.

Rounding out the night was a quick stop at Amoeba, a half hour before they closed, where I snagged the Greg Dulli solo album, Mark Geary's latest, and a MTV-branded bhangra compilation from India. Can't wait to listen.

LA Day 2

OK, so I didn't ride the mechanical bull. I realize it's a life-long dream, but I just couldn't while full on beef and in front of my coworkers. I needed Maria or Edith or Dan or some other encouragement, not the demands of people who expect me to live up to a certain stereotype that I'm not sure I fit.

Nevertheless, Saddle Ranch had some damn good tri tip and garlic mashed potatoes. It took a second to get them to bring me just a regular margarita (not a huge one, not a smoking one) and now I'm not drunk but just tired.

We went there after throwing a musical showcase at the Silent Movie Theater, which tapped into some weird past life / karmic / genetic destiny instinct that made me feel very comfortable there. Must be nice to see your name in lights.

So now I'm back and looking at leftover pancakes from this morning's breakfast at the Griddle Cafe. Fantastic plate-sized pancakes survive takeout containers pretty well and taste almost as good cold.

I thought I would be kind of bored for the next two days but it looks like I'll be pretty busy so I'd better get to bed soon. My face is slightly sunburned and I have to drive myself around tomorrow (thank you Tim) so I must be well-rested.

LA Day 1

Back in LA on business and the usual dread I feel about the West Coast isn't so bad today, but then again all I had to do was fly JetBlue with Tim and hang out today.

For the first time I'm staying at The Standard Hollywood, my normal breakfast spot. My room is great, and the executive chef David Linville fed me a huge chocolate-covered strawberry and generously topped off my glass of champagne. I felt a little out-of-sorts because Extreme Makeover was having their wrap party here tonight, which meant the pool was closed.

Fortunately, they gave us access to the pool at the Chateau Marmont, which is gorgeously nestled amongst much foliage and several bungalows.

After a quick swim, Tim and I went to El Compadre for dinner, where I had two flaming margaritas and we shared a chile relleno before I had the usual, carne asada. It reminded me of New York, namely Mexico Lindo the restaurant I live above. Really dark and cozy, our booth was almost like our own bungalow we dreamed of having whilst swimming at the Chateau Marmont.